Pile



2 sheets-sheet 1 rwemsivmggv.; o

J. H. DERBY PILE .0f/e5 Y Gttorneg Jiffy May 17, 1949.

Filed Jan. 1 6, 1948 May17,194 9.

J. H. DERBY PILE Filed Jan. 16', 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 :Snventor .8 www Patented May 17, 1949 PATENT orsi-rcs,

2,470,149 PILE .ro-1in H. Derry, samenle; N. Y. Appuis-annexation 16, 1.948,. seriaLNo. 2,162.

(Cla G11-5U This` invention relates to. piles. and'- particularly. to. piles intended tor use. inthe construction.. of. piers, wharves. docks, slips.. etc..v I

Piles employed/- in. the construction of; piers have been, for the most part, ordinary wooden pilesbecauseoi the diiiculty of. makinganddriving. other. types of pilesiandalsabecause offtheir lack. of durability, .mvlne oat` the. greats'drawbacks. to the use of. Wooden. piles, particularly since the' gener-al use ot oil: as`4 an fuel. steam andi lllieselI engine propelledvesselas that,.when.`a.pier fire occurs, the piles, which ha-Vefusually become coated with oil fromsthe: oil# scum. on the.. water; get are and? it is ,almost impossibleV to. get at. them: tofextinguishthenre. ySomefoi. the.l greatest pier re` disasters. have resultedfrom thisinabiiity to extinguish*i the re in. the. piling beneath. the piers.. i v

Various attempts havel heretofore been. made to-y cover Woodenl piles in. suchmanner, as. topre1 serve and: protectithembut-substantially all such attempts have.z involved 1 the. use of.` concretecoatings or sheaths, directly exposed. toI the action. ofi the water, with;A the result that the; action. of. the salt water soon causes. disintegration. of the concrete and eventual destruction of the protective covering. In. some casesglazed tile has ybeen tried as a substitute. for concreteior. theprot'ctive outer: sheath butfthi's. has the objection tha-tf it is brittle and fragile, aridf. cannot flex withtlie. pile structure,as a wholean'd therefore is apt'` to become broken. and` thus expose the inner' corrodible contents of. th'e pilev cover to the actio'n ofthe salt water; v l l The present' invention aims to overcome the .diiiiculties' heretofore encountersd in the protection' of' wooden piles' and in the' constructionof reinforced concrete pilesbyproviding a protective cover therefor that will resist theaction or the salt Water; thus' making possible the* provision' of piling, suitable for usel in the construction* of' piers; Wharves and slips, whichnniron'lyt wiil wit/liu standftheaction offthefwat'r and other conditions lio-which such piling-is sub'fcte'd, but Willi als@ be reproo; thusleliminating one-fot the*principal difficulties i`n= subtiuing' pien niesv snort. of; com plete destruction. olii tl'liefpier:

1' have discoveredi tliafti` it ai wooden. pilley be cove'red` with an: out'e'r sheath off semi-fiexible asbestos-cement. tubinge uniformly-T spa'cedr. ftomi the pile, and: if. the space'between thefouter'sheatln and thevpilefbeftlledvwitha. relatively; lightcen-V` cret'e, suchlass might be made with: cement mixed.' withl slag; pumice stone;. 1r`iica.etcz;y not only; will' such af. pile resist?. indefinitely the: action: ofthe- 2. salt water thereon and of any' other corrosive substancesthat may be carried to the piling by the Waterbut`,.by reason oithe'semi-flexible na' ture of the outer sheathing androf the relatively light concrete filling, such piling will' withstand the' shocks to which. piling: is subjected in piers, sli-ps,- wharves, etc. Not only'v have I found' that` such an outer sheathing, with itsrelatively light conrete filling between the `wooden core and the sheathing', provides an improved woodv pile construction for the uses aforementioned, but I have also found that', ifa core of other'ela'stic material, suchas may beformed' by providingr a cage; of metal' reinforcing rods concentric withv thea'sbestos cement outer sheath. be substituted for the wood pile' core' .and the whole interior of the sheath be thenllfed with therelatively light concrete.. there will. be provided an. improvedreinforced. concretepile construction. that will Withstand not onlythe actiony of.v the 4water but also' the impact of the pile driver` andthe considerableA roughy treatment to which piling, for such uses is. subjected'. after. installation;

An important, feature of the invention is the permanent sealing of the concrete filling. of the pilesagainst possible action of the salt` and other corrosive elements. in the water to which they are exposed.. i Another important feature ot the invention is the locking. ofthe .prot'ective'sheath against move"- nient4 relative to the core, particularly' in those piles that. have. wooden cores.

@ther important features,v advantages and' objects4 of'the invention, to which reference has not hereinabove specifically been made, will appear hereinafter. when. the following description. and claims. are. consderedinconnection. with the ac.- companying. drawings, in which- Eigure l shows. the invention incorporated in. a. pile construction having a Wood pile core', this view being. a vertical' sectionaoi one ofthe piles shown. in transverse section in Figure 2" and being taken on the' line f l. of Figure 2*; I

Figure-2 is a transverse section through a group' of. piles. constituting a part of the supporting; piling ofv a pier ;f

Figure. 3` is an enlarged sectional detail showing; the ,combined` dani and seal near theA lower endof.. the. protective. sheath;

Figure 4. is al. section. on the line 4--4' of Fig.- ureg.

Figure 5- is a verticalV sectional detail near the upper end of the pile;

Figure isatransverse section onthe line 6--6 of Figure';

Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of piles, embodying the present invention, which have reinforced concrete cores instead of wood cores;

Figure 8 is a vertical section, on the line 3 2, of one of the piles shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail showing particularly the construction of the cage of metal reinforcing rods; and

Figure 10 is a transverse section on the line IIJ-I of Figure 9.

As shown in Figures l to 6 inclusive, when a novel pile of the present invention is to be provided with a wood core the wooden pile 2 is driven in the usual manner into the harbor bottom 4, at the point where the pier, wharf or slip is to be constructed, to the desired depth and the top of the pile is then cut ofl. at 6 at the desired height. There is then applied to the pile at low tide, and preferably just above the low tide line, a darn formed by wrapping a piece of rope 8 about the pile and securing it thereto by nails I0. The rope 8 is of such a thickness that the sheath I2, to be more fully described hereinafter, can be slipped over the rope, the rope serving to center the sheath on the pile 2.

To insure centering of the sheath I 2 on the pile 2, at both its upper and its lower ends, centering means may also be provided near the upper end of the pile, such, for example, as nails or spikes I4 driven into the pile at 90 spacings and allowed to project therefrom at such equal distances that, while the sheath I2 will easily slip over them, at the same time the nails or spikes I4 will serve to keep the sheath substantially centered in respect to the pile 2.

The construction of the sheath I2, particularly its composition, is, as hereinabove suggested, an important feature of the present invention, since it is important that this sheath both be of such a composition that it will prevent the entry of the salt water into the space that is to be lled with concrete and that it be sufliciently flexible to permit its taking part in the exings to which most pilings used in the construction of piers, wharves, etc, is subjected, without liability to rupture of the sheath, I have discovered that if the sheath I2 be formed of an asbestos cement tubing, such, for example, as that sold under the trade name Transite and extensively used for water mains, particularly in soils where ordinary iron pipe 'would corr-ode, the problem of providing a sheath answering the foregoing specifications of flexibility and resistance to corrosion is effectively solved. The sheath I2 employed in the pile construction illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive consists preferably, therefore, of semi-flexible tubing of asbestos-cement composition, such tubing being formed by dispersing a mixture of asbestos fibers and cement in water to form a paper-making stock, picking up a thin layer of this mixture, say 1/iooths of an inch thick, on an endless felt, sucking out the water therefrom in the usual paper-making procedure and building up a tube from this thin sheet on a polished rotating mandrel to the desired thickness, heavy hydraulic pressure rolls being pressed against the mandrel while the pipe is being formed. It will be seen that a tube having this construction will necessarily have both inherent strength and considerably flexibility and that it will be Waterproof when the cement has fully set.

The sheath I2 shown in Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings is, in this form of the invention, to be placed in protective relation to the wooden core 2, as above stated, after the core 2 has :been driven in position and cut oft and, therefore, the asbestos-cement tube is preferably provided near its upper end with three openings I6 therethrough to receive a three prong grapple by which the sheath or tube I2 can be lifted and lowered over the upper end 6 of the wood pile 2 which is to constitute the core of the novel pile construction shown in Figures 1 to 6. When the sheath I2 has been placed in the position shown in Figure 1, with its lower end centered I on the pile 2 by means of the rope dam 8 and its upper end centered by means of the nails or spikes I4, the lower end of the pile 2 will preferably project about two feet below the water level at the lowest tide, which will usually mean that it will project at least two feet below the rope dam 8. Before the concrete filling is placed between the inner face of the sheath I2 and the outer face of the pile 2, a water-tight seal is provided at the rope dam 8 by pouring down on the inside of the sheath I2 a suitable sealing material I8, such as tar or asphalt or other waterproof material.

After the waterproofing I8 has been placed in position and after the :bolts 20 and 22 have been passed through opposed openings therefor provided near the upper end of the sheath I2 and through registering openings bored in the pile 2, to prevent relative longitudinal movement of the pile 2 and sheath I2, the concrete mixture 24 may then be poured into the space between the sheath I2 and pile 2 until it completely fills this space up to the top of the sheath and top of the pile. As hereinabove suggested, the concrete 24 is, preferably, a relatively light concrete such as may be made by substituting for the usual gravel or broken stone some of the lighter grout ingredients such, for example, as crushed pumice stone, crushed slag, mica, etc. A very satisfactory concrete for this purpose is one made from a mixture of Portland cement, 1 part, sand, 1% parts, and the gravel substitute sold under the trade name of Waylitej 21/2 parts.

After the piles for a pier have been driven and protected in above-described manner, the pier floor 26 may be formed thereon in any suitable manner as, for example, by providing forms supported by the piling and reinforcing rods 28 and then pouring any suitable concrete mixture for the floor construction into the forms. The reinforcing rods 28 may be bent over the upper ends of the piles, as shown in Figure 1, to permit the concrete of the floor 26 to form a cap, integral with the floor, extending down a ways over the upper end of the pile.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 7 to 10 inclusive there has been substituted for the wood core 2 of the pile shown in Figure 1 a reinforced concrete core and the entire pile structure is formed before it is driven. In this embodiment of the invention a cage of reinforcing metal rods 3Ilis first formed by the use of annular spacers 32 having punched therein, at uniform angular distances about their centers, holes 34 to receive the rods 30 and hold them in uniformly spaced relation to each other, these annular spacers 32 preferably having flanges 36 against which the sides of the rods may abut. To hold the spacers 32 in their proper longitudinal relations to the rods 30 they may be spot-welded to the rods either at the points where the rods pass through the openings 34, or where the flanges 36 touch the rods.

These spacers 32 will be located at such distances along the rods, as shown, as will serve to maintain the rods uniformly spaced throughout their lengths, the rods being of lengths substantially coextensive with the length of the pile and being substantially straight throughout their lengths except at their lower ends where they are incurved, as shown at 38, to bring them into the tapered hollow on the inside of a steel head or driving point 40 at the lower end of the assembled Pile.

The steel head or point 40 of the pile has a conical end as shown and, integral with this, a cylindrical part 4'2 for receiving the sheath or outer shell 44 of the pile, the end of which rests on a shoulder 46 at the upper end of the conical part of the steel head. The sheath or outer shell 44 of the pile is preferably of the same composition as the sheath I2 of the pile construction shown in Figures l to 6 inclusive, that is, it is an asbestos-cement tube which preferably fits tightly over the cylindrical part 42 of the head and, when in position, is preferably concentric with the cage of reinforcing rods hereinabove described. If the pile to be driven is of considerable length, say in the neighborhood of 40 feet, the sheath 44 will usually be formed of several sections held together by inner sleeves 48 which are of sufcient length to overlap the joint 50 between successive sections a considerable distance on each side of the joint and which have a forced fit upon the inside of the two sections so as to provide a water-tight seal.

In forming a 40 foot pile, for example of an outer diameter of approximately 2O inches, I may use three 13 foot sections of a 16" asbestos cement pressure pipe of the type sold under the trade name, Transite, and lcapable of withstanding a pressure of 200 pounds per square inch, such pipe having a wall thickness of approximately 1.65 inches. In such a pile the cage of metal reinforcement rods may be made up of twelve 9A" steel rods spaced approximately 3 inches apart in the spacer 32, thus making a cage of approximately 12 inches in diameter and leaving a space between the cage and the inner wall of the tube of approximately 21A". The sleeves 48 in such a construction would preferably overlap the joints 50 at least 18 inches on each side thereof and these sleeves 48 would help center the cage of reinforcing rods, the parts being in the position shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10. The entire interior of the assembled structure would then be lled with concrete, preferably a relatively light concrete such as may be made by the illustrative mixture hereinabove given in connection with the concrete filling of the pile construction illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, The pile thus constructed can safely be driven when a steel driving cap is placed over its upper end and, when driven, the concrete lling and the reinforcing are obviously completely protected from the salt Water surrounding the piles.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A non-rigid reproof pile structure for piers and the like having, in combination, a core of elastic material, a prefabricated, semi-flexible, tubular asbestos-cement sheath, substantially uniformly spaced from said core, and a filling of relatively light concrete between said elastic core and said sheath.

2. A pile according to claim 1 in which the elastic core is of wood.

3. A pile according to claim 1 in which the elastic core is of wood and a, waterproof seal is located between said sheath and said core at the lower end of said concrete lling.

4. A pile according to claim 1 in which the elastic core is of wood and in which metal spacers insure maintenance of the substantially uniform spacing between the core and the sheath.

5. A pile according to claim l in which the elastice core comprises a cage of metal reinforcing rods concentric with the sheathing and extending lengthwise thereof.

6. A pile according to claim 1 in which the elastic core comprises a cage of metal reinforcing rods concentric with the sheathing and extending lengthwise thereof and a steel driving point extending from the lower end of the sheath.

7. A pile according to claim l in which the elastic core comprises a cage of metal reinforcing rods concentric with the sheathing and extending lengthwise thereof, a steel driving point extending from the lower end of the sheath and in which the concrete filling extends across the interior of the sheath,

JOHN H. DERBY.

No references cited. 

